Art. 17 of the Law on Telecommunications regulates that the State holds the controlling shares in telecommunication companies considered particularly important to the operation of the entire national telecommunications infrastructure. Therefore, there are limits to foreign ownership in these companies. According to Art. 1 of Decision No. 55/2011/QD-TTg, these include the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), the Viettel Group (VIETTEL), Global Telecommunications Corporation (GTEL), and Indochina Telecom Joint Stock Company (INDOCHINA TELECOM).

Art. 19 of Decree No. 72 of 2013, and its extension in Decree 27/2018, regulates that "organisations and individuals that use Internet resources shall provide information and cooperate with competent state management agencies at the latter’s request".

Art. 17 of the Law on Telecommunications regulates that the State holds the controlling shares in telecommunication companies considered particularly important to the operation of the entire national telecommunications infrastructure. Therefore, there are limits to foreign ownership in these companies. According to Art. 1 of Decision No. 55/2011/QD-TTg, these include the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), the Viettel Group (VIETTEL), Global Telecommunications Corporation (GTEL), and Indochina Telecom Joint Stock Company (INDOCHINA TELECOM).

Under Decree No. 121/2008/ND-CP, equity caps applicable to foreign investment are based on WTO commitments. That is, for fixed and mobile communications, as well as Internet services, the maximum foreign equity shares are set at 49% in facilities-based services (i.e. telecom sector with infrastructure facilities). The threshold may increase up to 65% for non-facilities-based services (i.e. telephony services with no network infrastructure) and 70% for VPN services after a three-year investing period in Vietnam.

Art. 11 of Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP regulates the cross-border supply of telecommunications services to the Vietnamese market. The provision of telecommunications services across the border to users of telecommunications services in Vietnam must be through a commercial agreement with a Vietnamese telecommunications enterprise that has been licensed to provide international telecommunication services.

Art. 24 of the Law on Investment specifies that foreign investment in economic organisations must be conditional upon ensuring national defence and security in compliance with this Law. It is reported that the government periodically intervenes to prevent foreign investment when it is deemed to pose a threat to Vietnam’s national security.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) plays a key role in investment screening. All foreign direct investment (FDI) projects require approval from the People’s Committee in the province where the project will be located. Additionally, large-scale FDI projects must secure approval from the National Assembly before proceeding. MPI’s approval process involves a comprehensive assessment of the investor’s legal status and financial strength, the project’s alignment with the government’s long- and short-term economic development and revenue goals, the investor’s technological expertise, environmental protection measures, and, if applicable, plans for land use and land clearance compensation.

Art. 31 of the Law on Investment stipulates that the Prime Minister shall grant approval for projects initiated by foreign investors in the provision of telecommunication services involving network infrastructure. The approval entails the endorsement by a competent state authority of the objectives, location, scope, implementation timeline and duration of the investment project, the investor or method of investor selection, and any special mechanisms or policies (if applicable) for the project's implementation.

Art. 31 of Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP stipulates that foreign organisations and individuals offering online gaming services to Vietnamese users are required to establish enterprises in compliance with Vietnamese law, as prescribed by this Decree and the laws governing foreign investment. This provision establishes a local entity requirement for online gaming services, necessitating that foreign entities form a local enterprise.

Pursuant to the provisions of Art. 61.1 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce, one of the conditions for conducting credit rating of e-commerce websites is being a trader or an organisation established under Vietnamese law.

Patent applications by non-Vietnamese residents must be filed via recognised Vietnamese patent agents. According to Art. 89 of Law No. 50/2005/QH11 on Intellectual Property Rights, and Art. 4 of Circular 23/2023/Vietnam on Industrial property, non-Vietnamese residents, organisations or companies without business entities in Vietnam must apply for industrial property rights via legal representatives in Vietnam. Legal representatives must meet the criteria as regulated in Article 154 of the Law. The Parliament of Vietnam amended certain parts of Law No. 50/2005/QH11 with Law No. 36/2009/QH12, and such regulation remains.

The local preference directive for government procurement (Directive No. 494/CT-TTg) limits foreign firms from bidding on government-issued procurement tenders to instances where domestic bidders cannot meet the required services or supplies. Consequently, foreign suppliers or contractors are selected only when domestic companies are unable to provide the necessary goods or services or when financing agreements between the Vietnamese government and donors mandate international bidding. However, it should be noted that this directive is not a binding measure or regulation. Instead, it is an instruction from the Prime Minister aimed at achieving specific strategic targets in economic development.

Vietnam is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

According to Art. 11 of Law No. 22/2023/QH15 on Bidding, international bidding may be organised under specific conditions. These include
(i) instances where international bidding is mandated by a donor funding the project or package under an international convention or loan agreement;
(ii) where domestic bidders fail to meet the requirements of consulting, non-consulting, or construction service packages, or where prequalification or competitive bidding procedures yield no satisfactory results.
(iii) for consulting service packages when deemed necessary by the competent authority to enhance quality, provided the authority assumes responsibility for the decision.
However, international bidding is not applicable for projects involving business lines prohibited to foreign investors, projects requiring domestic bidding for reasons of national defence, security, or public order, projects located in areas restricted to foreign entities under the Law on Land, or projects with a total investment below VND 800 billion (approximately USD 33.33 million). In cases where international expressions of interest are invited but fail to receive responses from foreign bidders, such projects are also excluded from international bidding.

Vietnam’s copyright regime is governed by Law No. 50/2005/QH11 on Intellectual Property Rights and supplemented by Decree 17/2023 on Copyright. However, the exceptions outlined in this framework do not adhere to the fair use or fair dealing models, thereby restricting the lawful use of copyrighted works by others. Art. 25 of Law No. 50/2005/QH11 enumerates these exceptions, with Decree 17/2023 providing further clarification on their application. Notable exceptions include the recitation of works without distorting the author's views in articles for newspapers or periodicals, radio or television broadcasts, or documentaries, as well as the use of works in schools for teaching purposes, provided it does not misrepresent the author’s views and is not for commercial gain, among others.

Law No. 64/2020/QH14 on Public Private Partnership was issued in June 2020 and has been effective since January 2021. Art. 58.5 of the Law states that Public Private Partnership projects only use foreign labourers if domestic labourers do not meet the demand.